As the year 2014 comes to a close, we can reflect on the past and plan for the future. Reflection will enable us to track the highpoints as well as the low points of our life in 2014. It gives us a sense of fulfilment tinged with some remorse and possibly some regret too at the wasted opportunities. The image above gives us a plethora of options to reflect upon. You must also look at other aspects of your life and recount those special moments of elation and dispassionately analyze the low points of your life too. More importantly, reflect hard on the learning derived from the low points.

Once the reflection is done with, concentrate on the wonderful future ahead of you. There is so much that one can aspire for, strive to achieve and make dreams come true. True success however will still be the peace, calm and contentment that you derive every single day. However for the vast majority of us who cannot lead a mendicant’s life but has to earn a living and provide for the family, it is our work life and family life that we need to pay attention too. Obviously there would be periods of stress, issues of moral and ethical dilemmas, complicated decision making and challenges of balancing personal and professional life. Despite these myriad of unpleasant challenges bringing life on even keel is possible if you were to focus on some of the positive affirmations enumerated above.

Use atleast one of the affirmations enumerated above as the pivot around which to base your life and daily living in the coming year. It might be a simple affirmation but when you try to put it in practice throughout the year, it could suddenly loom large as insurmountable mountain. Yet with awareness, determination and focus one can stick to the affirmation and soon it would become a life changing habit. Give it a try and see yourself change into an even more happier, contented and successful person this year. Let this be your first resolution for 2015.

My best wishes to you for the New Year 2015 !

Try this:

Write down 3 of your favourite proverbs / sayings. Reflect on how or why the sayings/ proverbs appeal to you. Can you find an affirmation that comes close to the saying or proverb you like?

Draft a letter to an intimate friend outlining the year gone by and your plans for the coming year. End the letter with 3 requests to your friend asking him/ her to do something specific for you to help you achieve the plans set for the New Year.

When December comes, we subconsciously review the year gone by and hope against hope that the New Year has better tidings for us. The fact is that each one of is solely responsible for the progress we make in our life, notwithstanding events and circumstances beyond one’s control that occasionally crop up and derail even the best of plans. December is also the time when many of us make resolutions for the New Year, most of it never written down. When next December comes we regret the opportunities gone by, the noble intentions never executed and keep fervently wishing we could turn the clock back. Alas, a year would have passed by then; and we continue to rue.

This is an opportune moment to make plans, commit to them and execute them so that next year around this time, you would have achieved much more than you ever expected to. However it is also important to realize that this is the best time to also move beyond the conventional listing that most people do and instead list out personal priorities related to your interests, passions, hobbies and yearnings. So this is the perfect time to get going on ensuring you attain your happiness quotient by deft planning and execution.

The most important ritual that one has to necessarily follow before outlining one’s plans for the future is to spend enough time ‘thinking’ about what one wants to achieve. Thinking must be deliberate, reasoned, clearly visualized and actionable milestones identified. The milestone’s will be critical to motivate you to act even if the results don’t seem too encouraging to begin with. E.g. those who plan to run a marathon or plan to lose weight would initially find the going very tough, but strict self discipline would definitely show results. Thinking also ensures that we don’t operate out of a whim or fancy but it is a conscious choice made. This makes us more committed to the activity we have chosen.

In preparing for the future, ensure that there is ample time allotted to personal passions, interests and yearnings. Life is not about just hard work towards a materialistic goal; rather life must be lived with panache, verve and fulfillment. These aspects are individualistic, self determined and uniquely experienced; provide for it in your plans so that you never regret not venturing into it. More than anything else, what we plan must be written down and only then can one periodically review progress made and corrective action initiated. When we are disappointed that we have not done anything substantial or failed to even begin something we have no one but ourselves to blame. As is said ‘ well begun is half done’ so begin well by writing down your resolutions and taking courage to begin and being self disciplined to keep going.

Next year this time, smile at the results; pat yourself on your back for the progress made and don’t forget to once again start anew !

Try this:

Decide to give up one bad habit that you have in the coming year.

Focus on 3 things you always wanted to do but never did till date. Ensure that in the coming year you do at least one of these activities that you have listed.

Choose one of the following or decide on something special for yourself to be done in the coming year

Preparing a PPT on your life in 25 slides and using a maximum of 50 photographs

Volunteering for a completely off beat social service activity e.g volunteering at prisons

Throwing a surprise party for some one of your choice.

Attempting something that no one ever expected you to do e.g. keeping a pet / bungee jumping/ writing your personal blog etc.